Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner fly to Saudi Arabia - on Shabbat

Trump's Orthodox Jewish daughter and son-in-law join him on trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Rome, get rabbi's approval for Shabbat flight.

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David Rosenberg, 19/05/17 09:48 | updated: 09:47

Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and their children exit Marine One

REUTERS

President Trump will leave Washington on Friday kicking off his nine-day trip with a flight to Saudi Arabia.

On Monday, the president will fly to Israel for a two-day visit, followed by a visit in the Vatican on Tuesday.

Joining the president for his trip are his Orthodox Jewish daughter, Ivanka, and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The two will board Air Force One for the Friday flight, despite it running into the Sabbath, which begins at sundown Friday evening.

While the couple observe the Sabbath and ordinarily do not travel from Friday evening till Saturday night, they have in the past received special rabbinic dispensation to be transported on the Sabbath, though still refraining from driving themselves.

A White House official confirmed to Politico that Kushner and Ivanka Trump would be traveling with the President on Friday, and that they had received dispensation from a rabbi after consulting him about the trip. The official did not name which rabbi had given the couple permission to travel.

Kushner, who was tapped by President Trump to serve as Senior Advisor, is one of the president’s most important confidants, along with Chief White House Strategist Steve Bannon and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.